By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
The Town of Osoyoos has closed the primary boat launch at Desert Sunrise Marina due to damage.
The damage is understood to be a result of the semi-truck cab that accidentally drove down the ramp and into the water on April 27 after the driver, following directions from his GPS device, took a wrong turn and drove down the boat ramp, according to the RCMP.
Rod Risling, Osoyoos Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) said the town received a couple of complaints from boat launch users earlier this week that something was wrong with underwater portion of the ramp, leading to its closure. Risling noted that the ramp was never built for the weight of a semi-truck cab.
Divers will survey the ramp early next week after the long weekend along with an environmental assessment and then repairs will be carried out accordingly.
Risling notes this couldn’t come at worse time given the start of the busy tourist season typically kicks off with the Victora Day long weekend.
While there are other boat launches around the lake, the town marina is capable of handling the largest of pleasure boats. Some boats may not be able to launch at the other locations Times Chronicle understands.
“We are going to fix it as fast as we can, the divers will be out next week and we know the urgency with the kickoff to the busy season this weekend so it’s a high priority,” Risling said.
Meanwhile, the Osoyoos Lake Water Quality Society (OLWQS) began its lake monitoring activities on Wednesday and after returning from their lake sampling session witnessed an unidentified man on a boat pulling pieces of the semi-cab out of the water with a pike pole.
This included the truck’s entire front bumper with the license plate still attached. This boat was between the first and second pylons, the OLWQS volunteer said.
In the meantime, the right-hand side of the boat launch (the older original launch) remains open and an alternative boat launch is available at sẁiẁs (formerly Hayne’s Point).
The statement also noted that Wakepilot which is located at the marina is operating as normal, and the floating dock is still accessible.
